The Georgian Ministry of Economy holds the two-day energy workshop on Wednesday and Thursday. It was held in the Ministry’s collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.
The Ministry of the Economy spokesperson said that the workshop’s main objective is to provide a single platform for all the stakeholders. The stakeholders can discuss and exchange their experiences on legislative harmonization and implementation with other member states of the Energy Community. The Energy Community is an international organization composed of members of the European Union and some other non-European states including asia.
As per the ministry representative, the workshop aimed to harmonize domestic energy legislation as well as Georgia’s legal provisions with the European Union standard. These provisions that have to be implemented were outlined in the Association Agreement with the bloc, which was signed in 2014. It also aims to discuss the provisions of the Protocol of the Accession of Georgia to the Energy Community Treaty.
Moreover the discussion will also provide the framework to ensure energy supply security, enhance competitiveness, and align with sustainable development objectives, added the ministry representative on this occasion. Although the country has taken many initiatives to modernize its energy regulatory mechanism as per the European standard, implementing European legislation is still a “key challenge.”
It is worth mentioning that the UN Economic Commission for Europe also extended the technical support to Georgia and other member countries. This technical support focuses on research and sharing best practices and experiences. These are related to legislative convergence and implementation of many other challenges that may be faced by the Energy Community member states.
Representatives of different governments, agencies, and government and non-government organizations also participated in the workshop. While exchanging their innovative ideas, all the participants discussed the institutional, legislative, and practical challenges that need the immediate attention of all stakeholders. The Georgian government has taken many steps in the past to ensure energy security.
